Trustee of a will

[Reiden]

I have been asked to be one of 2 trustees of a will - is anyone else a trustee, and had to carry out trustee duties etc?

Not really sure what it means

Thanks

Hi Reiden,

You may also have been asked to act as an executor - the usual thing is to appoint someone to act both as executor and trustee.

The executors duties are to sell the deceased's assets, to pay funeral expenses, debts, inheritance tax and any gifts out of the proceeds of sale, and then to give the residue to the beneficiary (usually the children if there is no spouse).

If the beneficiaries are under 21 or other specified age, then the exec's duties as trustees are to look after the trust fund. This can be as simple as a bank account or more complex portfolio of shares/accounts/bonds. If the children are under 18 and are placed with a Guardian, then the trustee should reimburse the Guardian's expenses from the trust fund so long as they are reasonable.

You will have a co-executor and you will have to agree on all issues such as where to invest funds if the beneficiaries are children.

I'm a will writer btw but have never personally acted as an executor for a friend or family member.

Thanks mumble... from what you are saying, me living a couple of hundred miles from the person whos will I would be a trustee of, would cause some problems wouldnt it?

No, not necessarily - the executorship part (I'm assuming they have asked you to act as an executor?) could be a minor hassle in that you'd have to visit the house a couple of times to deal with estate agents, house clearance people etc) but the rest of it could be dealt with remotely.

Just wondering whether you've been asked to act as executor or just trustee?

I was just told trustee

Well if that's definite (would be a bit unusual tbh), then your job wouldn't be massively onerous - you'd just have to negotiate with the Guardians about the children's expenses, and make the financial arrangements to invest the fund appropriately. Once the children are all 18 they'd either get their money on their 18th birthdays or if the will specifies that the money stays in trust till 21, then the trustees would give the children money in accordance with their needs (eg university expenses, but not motorbikes, drugs, benders in Ibiza).

From 18 to 21 i should have added.

Now we know what mumblechum got up to in her youth!!

Well it came out of the blue, via text, so not a 100%, Exact words were "Im making a will. Planning on putting payout in a trust. Planning on making you one of 2 trustees. Any objections?"

Yes, I was both executor and trustee to one of my friends. She died a couple of years ago. As her husband is still alive and is the other executor/trustee, I haven't had to do too much, to be honest. Mostly it concerns her finances which she has left to her son. All I've had to do is check over the husband's investment decisions and sign forms. As I know he's a sensible, decent man with his son's best interests at heart, it's been little more than a formality.

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